USA Basketball announced the 14 players who still have the opportunity to make the Team USA women's squad for the FIBA World Championships for Women taking place later this week in the Czech Republic. The USA squad finalists are: Jayne Appel (San Antonio Silver Stars), Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm), Swin Cash (Seattle Storm), Tamika Catchings (Indiana Fever), Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun), Candice Dupree (Phoenix Mercury), Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky), Asjha Jones (Connecticut Sun), Kara Lawson (Connecticut Sun), Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream), Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury), Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota Lynx) and the only collegiate player on this team, UConn's Maya Moore.
Team USA closed out the exhibition schedule with a 3-1 record and have a scrimmage in Brno in moments with FIBA women's tournament hosts the Czech Republic.Group B pool play for the seven time FIBA women's champs starts in Ostrava on September 23 against Greece, followed the next day with games against Senegal and closing on September 25 with France.
Top three finishers in each group move on to the crossover rounds which will be conducted in Ostrava from September 27-29. Canada's in Group A along with defending FIBA world champ Australia, Belarus, and China.
The medal round will be played in Karlovy Vary, with the quarterfinals scheduled for October 1, the semifinals on October 2 and the medal games played on October 3.But before we get to that point, the 12 woman FIBA tournament team rosters have to be finalized on September 22.
Coach Auriemma and the USA Basketball staff have some tough decisions to make in terms of who will be the last twelve women standing for the FIBA number one ranked USA women's team.
Whoever makes Team USA, the goals remain the same. Take their eighth FIBA world championship crown and the automatic bid in the London Games back to US shores.
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